Future Planet goes bankrupt

Japanese shingle owes $12.4 mil

Toon studio Future Planet has filed for bankruptcy at the Tokyo District Court with debt totaling $12.4 million.

The filing was announced on Wednesday by biz info outfit Tokyo Shoko Research, with 160 creditors reportedly making claims.

Launched in 1998, the company hit the financial rocks following the joint Japan-China production of a TV toon based on the Chinese classic “Romance of Three Kingdoms.”

High production costs of $2.4 million and repeated delays caused Future Planet to run up unsustainable debts.

The toon debuted last April on Japanese television, but the company was unable to recoup fast enough to stave off bankruptcy. It shut up shop and fired its entire workforce of 160 employees on July 31.